What Time on Saturday PM does the priest HAVE to celebrate the Mass of Sunday

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There are two separate issues at hand. First, although the civil calendar still says its Saturday in the liturgical calendar it is now Sunday. Sundays and solemnities are longer than 24 hours. They start on the previous evening. This has happened for centuries even when any Mass in the evening was prohibited. Evening Prayer (Vespers) on Saturday evening is the First Vespers of Sunday. I think Holy Saturday is the only Saturday in the entire year with its own Vespers rather than the first Vespers of Sunday. So, if it is Sunday it makes sense to celebrate Sunday Mass.

The second thing is to fulfil your obligation it does not matter what the Mass is. You fulfil your Sunday obligation on Saturday evening even if the Mass celebrated was not the Mass of the Sunday. You do not have to fulfil your obligation in the Roman Rite. You fulfil it by attending a celebration of the Eucharist in any rite (Roman, Ambrosian, Dominican, Byzantine, Alexandrian) of any Catholic Church that is in communion with the pope. So you could fulfil your obligation in your local parish church, or in a Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church church, etc. I always describe the obligation as canonical rather than liturgical. That is because Canon Law imposes the obligation but it can be met at Mass, Divine Liturgy, etc. of any sui iuris (canonical) Catholic church
 
A Mass obligation is fulfilled by attending Mass on that day. Canon law reckons time from Midnight to Midnight.

Liturgical tradition gives a nod to Judaism and reckons time (for high holy days) from the evening preceding.

As such, sometimes a Mass obligation is fulfilled for Sunday with different readings than those of the next day.

A couple of times I have assisted at three Masses on a Saturday: Morning Mass for Sat., Nuptial Mass in the afternoon, and the anticipatory Mass for Sunday in the evening.

So close to that set of steak knives!

Deacon Christopher
 
There is some confusion on this thread between Anticipatory Masses and Vigil Masses.

Some important high holy days have proper Vigil Masses. (For example - Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, etc.)

What most people (incorrectly) call the regular Saturday evening Mass is not a Vigil, but an Anticipated Mass for Sunday.

Deacon Christopher
 
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